Ikea's new campaign targets buyers ahead of first store launch in Hyderabad

Swedish furniture maker Ikea has rolled out its first communication campaign targeting Indian buyers ahead of the opening of the brand’s first store in Hyderabad. The campaign extends Ikea’s brand promise of ‘Make Everyday Brighter’; to Indian consumers. It captures everyday life at Indian homes and showcases company products highlighting how Ikea’s home furnishing solutions can help make living spaces more fun and functional. The television commercial treats viewers with visuals of a young boy and girl preparing cup cakes under the watchful eyes of their mother, a father reading to his kids at bedtime, and an octogenarian having a peaceful nap. Capturing emotions as varied as delight, amusement and peace ; these everyday slice-of-life moments have one thing in common - an Ikea product at the centre of the activity making life more joyful and comfortable. The campaign introduces consumers to a basic Ikea utility product like Vessla storage box priced at Rs 359 as well as a more expensive yet a popular product such as a Strandmon arm chair sporting a price tag of Rs 15,990.

The campaign aims to position Ikea as an enabler of affordable home furnishing solutions for everyone, especially for families with kids.

“We are here for the many people including those people with smaller wallets. We are keen to reach out to families with kids, as they constitute 80 per cent of the people living in Hyderabad”, says Ulf Smedberg, country marketing head, Ikea India.

Ikea believes that it can make everyday life at home, brighter, thus ‘Make everyday brighter’; was chosen as the theme for its first brand campaign.

Smedberg adds that Ikea wants to be relevant and aspirational so we want to connect with people in a fun way. This positioning is a key ask for us.

The campaign has an Indian appeal with an IKEA feel so it is set in Indian homes and living situations but features solutions and inspirations that Ikea has designed from its understanding of life at home across many countries in the world.

“Ikea understands the concept of life at home well and we have learnt, it is similar in many ways across the world. We have also been studying life at home in India for two years now trying to understand how we can make their everyday life brighter through our solutions. This understanding has helped us to zero down on the core of our marketing and advertising campaign; claims Smedberg.

Ikea entrusted creative agency Dentsu Impact to put together its maiden campaign for India. The team carried out extensive home visits, ethnography studies etc across different markets such as Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai to help understand the lives of the consumers and their needs, and therefore the role Ikea can play in their lives.

Amit Wadhwa, President, Dentsu Impact, says ”;The campaign is a perfect amalgamation of life at home in India and Ikea’;s point of view on life at home. It’s not about perfect looking, luxurious homes with a \;too good to be true; showcase of home and relations, but about the real, chaotic and not-so-perfect everyday life that comes with its own little ups and downs. This is where Ikea comes into the picture with solutions that help make this everyday even brighter.

Cracking the perfect balance between Ikea the global brand and India has been one of the biggest challenges for the team Dentsu Impact. Ikea is a values driven company and it reflects in everything they do. At the same time cultural nuances in India are as diverse as the country itself. Finding the perfect balance in communication that is both Ikea and true to India and specifically, Hyderabad was crucial to Ikea’s launch campaign in India says Wadhwa.

According to a TechSci Research report, home furnishing market in India is projected to cross Rs 400 billion by 2020. Currently, the industry is dominated by players like Urban Ladder and Pepperfry.

Without sharing specific India sales and revenue numbers, Smedberg says that the company is focussed on establishing and increasing the awareness of Ikea brand in Hyderabad to be followed by Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi. Ikea aims to reach more than 200 million people in the next three years through its stores and e-commerce offerings which will go live next year.